What to Eat in Gunma: Okkirikomi

27 June 2015

Whenever I visit a prefecture, I always make it a point to taste their local specialities. I want to try all the delicious food all around Japan, in the place where it originated from because somehow it feels more special!

Take for example, sushi. Sushi is available all around the world, but it’s just a different feeling eating it in Japan, no?

We recently visited Gunma, which is about a 2-hr drive from Tokyo. Gunma is one of the leading producers of wheat in Japan, and therefore many of their local specialities include wheat products like udon and soba.

One of the dishes that caught my eye was おっきりこみ Okkirikomi (also commonly spelled Okirikomi) and we sought out a restaurant to have it for lunch after our visit to the Gunma Safari Park!

The restaurant was small and cosy, and thankfully quite empty, because we were famished!

All four of us ordered Okkirikomi, and everyone chose the option of adding meat except me because I don’t like pork >_>

Mine!

Fu’s with added meat

The special thing about the noodles is that they’re very fat! (excuse the blurry shot. I forgot to bring my macro lens out and was too hungry to check if it was taken properly lol)

The noodles come in these huge cast iron pots which kept the food warm while we ate. It kinda works against me though, since I’m very sensitive to heat and cannot eat my food hot -_-

But it was plenty delicious! The broth was really tasty and there were so much ingredients! The noodles were very unique too; I’ve never had anything like it before. The rainy weather outside made this doubly enjoyable :)

Side mention: Their karaage (fried chicken) was supremely delish too! Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and just the right amount of seasoning. Mmmm!

All four of us thoroughly enjoyed Okkirikomi, even though only the boys managed to finish their food (even then, they barely did so, because both of them were stuffed to the brim).

People visiting Gunma should give this dish a try; it comes highly recommended by us! :)